Poll: Rick Scott no pushover vs. Charlie Crist in Florida

A Democratic poll taken in Florida earlier this month raises questions about former Gov. Charlie Crist’s strength as a 2014 challenger for Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

The survey, conducted by the firm Hamilton Campaigns and obtained by POLITICO, shows that Scott starts out his reelection fight tied with Crist and modestly ahead of other Democratic candidates. The poll was taken from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, testing 600 registered voters.

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That time frame was in the immediate aftermath of Scott’s announcement of a proposal to boost pay for public school teachers, one of several moves by the conservative Republican to reposition himself closer to the middle.

Democratic pollster David Beattie, who heads Hamilton Campaigns, declined to comment on the survey and said it was a private poll taken for private clients. The firm is not currently working for any Democratic candidate.

In the survey, Scott’s personal favorability is narrowly positive: 44 percent of respondents said they had a favorable impression of him, compared with 39 percent who had an unfavorable impression. He gets positive job approval reviews from 48 percent of Floridians and negative reviews from 43 percent – a narrowly positive split.

Crist’s personal image is 49 percent favorable, 31 percent unfavorable. The party-switching former governor would start out tied with Scott at 41 percent in a general election match-up, with 18 percent of voters undecided.

But the poll also asks a question aimed at probing Crist’s general election weaknesses, prompting voters with the information that Crist “was a hard-line Republican, appointing right-wing justices to the Florida Supreme Court, supporting the failed policies of George W. Bush and opposing Barack Obama’s first election.” Now, the question continues, Crist “wants Democrats to give him his old job back. He is a typical politician who will do or say anything to stay in power.”

Some 62 percent of voters say that information is either “somewhat concerning” or “very concerning.” In a match-up with Scott after that question is posed, Crist drops to 30 percent of the vote versus 36 percent for Scott, while 18 percent of voters said they would opt for an unnamed independent candidate.